Press Releases
Jean-Claude Boisset:
A contemporary brand in tune with its time
The wine house Jean-Claude Boisset today continues the renewal initiated by the second generation – Nathalie and Jean-Charles – with the transformation of Jean-Claude Boisset into a ‘Collection’ of wines, selected exclusively from the Côte de Nuits and the Côte de Beaune. Jean-Claude Boisset wines are low volume, handcrafted wines with a very strong commitment to upstream quality control and rigorous parcel selection. These strengths have been entrusted to the hands of Grégory Patriat, the young and uncompromising viniculteur, who has left his mark on the family’s signature brand since the 2002 vintage.
Grégory Patriat has free reign to make the best wines possible. His credo is eloquent: "I vinify not in the winery, but in the vines," he explains, "because it is well-known that the quality of a wine results from its origin". He looks above all for older, less vigorous vines, with perfect exposure, grown with mostly organic methods.
The Ursulines winery in Nuits-Saint-Georges houses about forty wooden vats, the equivalent to almost 500 Burgundian barrels, in a mosaic of small lots averaging nine barrels each, a reflection of the tailor-made work ethic and individual attention that is given to all the wines of Jean-Claude Boisset.
New packaging that is both contemporary and dignified illustrates this philosophy of excellence.
Screwcaps for Great Burgundies!
The 2003 vintage, with its unusual characteristics, is currently showing a remarkable expression of fruit and freshness that we absolutely want to capture now! The perfect way to trap this crunchy fruitiness is the screwcap! The first lots received them on July 19th, and a further selection of wines will follow before the harvest. Boisset is the first to use screwcaps for top quality Burgundies, showing that it is an ideal closure for the prestigious Côte appellations of the 2003 vintage (Chambolle-Musigny, Gevrey-Chambertin, Echezeaux Grand Cru…) and not just for regional appellations.
The tasting of a distinguished Mercurey 1966 that was sealed under screwcap, presented by a dignitary of the Chair of Oenology at the Université de Bourgogne, triggered Patriat’s decision to use screwcaps on the 2003 vintage. Sealing the Mercurey was the experiment of a viticulteur who was a visionary of his time, and Patriat’s tasting revealed that it had a fantastic freshness, great body, and was in superb condition. "The first wine of my fledgling career that contradicted received wisdom!" confessed Grégory, after this tasting convinced him to break free from the constraints of a specific idea of Burgundy.
2003 – An Exceptional Vintage!
2003 and its heat wave have given us very concentrated wines, full of body and rich in polyphenols. This is a vintage unlike any other from Burgundy – the harvest began on the 21st of August, one month earlier than usual and the earliest since 1893! The precocious malolactic fermentations meant an early bottling so as not to unbalance the wines. Today they are showing plenty of long-lasting fruit, trapped for freshness by the innovative screwcap, sure to please for years to come!
The Jean-Claude Boisset Collection of wines is imported to the United States by Boisset America, among the most well-established and fastest growing wines and spirits companies in the world. For more information about the Jean-Claude Boisset wines, or any Boisset America products, contact Patrick Egan, Marketing Assistant, at 800-878-1123 or visit www.boissetfamilyestates.com.
